In May 2019, Voyager are due to publish The DragonRepublic, the follow-up to R.F. Kuang‘s critically-acclaimed debut, The Poppy War. I read the first novel a while ago, but I’ve been struggling to write the review: I enjoyed the novel, and the characters were interesting. The clear borrowing from Chinese history was a little distracting, at times, for this reader (I’ve studied and written about East Asia for 20 years), but it was also well-done. The echoes and influence of the Rape of Nanking were harrowing and difficult to read. I’ll try to get something up on the site soon. If you’re interested in reading a fantasy novel that doesn’t pull any punches, does some interesting things with magic and world-building, though, then I think you’ll get a lot out of it. (It took a little while to get going, too, but it was always interesting.)

Anyway. I’m certainly looking forward to reading the sequel. I spotted the cover on Amazon UK yesterday. Here’s the synopsis:

In the aftermath of the Third Poppy War, shaman and warrior Rin is on the run: haunted by the atrocity she committed to end the war, addicted to opium, and hiding from the murderous commands of her vengeful god, the fiery Phoenix. Her only reason for living is to get revenge on the traitorous Empress who sold out Nikan to their enemies.

With no other options, Rin joins forces with the powerful Dragon Warlord, who has a plan to conquer Nikan, unseat the Empress, and create a new Republic. Rin throws herself into his war. After all, making war is all she knows how to do.

But the Empress is a more powerful foe than she appears, and the Dragon Warlord’s motivations are not as democratic as they seem. The more Rin learns, the more she fears her love for Nikan will drive her away from every ally and lead her to rely more and more on the Phoenix’s deadly power. Because there is nothing she won’t sacrifice for her country and her vengeance…

The Dragon Republic is due to be published by Voyager in North America and in the UK, in May 2019.